Video: Cancer patient loses insurance coverage thanks to ObamaCare

posted at 9:51 am on November 25, 2013 by Ed Morrissey

The White House postponed the enforcement of the employer mandate until 2015, but that doesn’t mean that the coverage mandates in ObamaCare haven’t had an impact on employer-based group plans already. Debra Fishericks managed her kidney cancer through employer-based coverage, and both she and her employer were satisfied with the coverage and pricing. Now, however, the changes have forced Atkinson Realty to give up on covering their employees, and Fishericks can’t find anything comparable to replace it at anything close to the price she and her employer paid previously:

“At her office in Virginia Beach, Debra Fishericks often sneeks a peek at her 3 year old grandson. … Debra is battling kidney cancer. During the 10 years she’s worked at Atkinson Realty, the company has provided group health insurance with manageable premiums,” says reporter Susan McGinnis.

“We were happy,” says the business owner. “We had great insurance. We had continuing care for our employees.”

Says the owner, “Great–until owner Betsy Atkinson learned the policy would be terminated because it doesn’t meet the requirements of the Affordable Care Act.”

Democrats want Barack Obama to fix the website, but as this shows, that’s the just the tip of the massive iceberg:

President Obama has to get healthcare working smoothly if he is to have any chance of breathing life into his second term, according to Democratic strategists and other observers.

The Democrats were speaking before the announcement of an interim deal on Iran’s nuclear program over the weekend, and they also acknowledged that Obama cannot ignore the rest of his agenda, including climate change, immigration reform and efforts to improve the economy. But, once the initial flurry of coverage over the Geneva accord subsides, it remains likely that healthcare will overshadow everything once again.

“Until this thing is working better, the conversation is naturally going to go to, ‘Is this thing working? When is it going to work?’” said Steve McMahon, a veteran of Democratic campaigns including Howard Dean’s 2004 White House bid.

Making the website work better won’t improve the situation of Fishericks and millions like her who will get dumped from their insurance plans this year, and the tens of millions who have that happen just before the midterms next year. In fact, it might accelerate the process and make the political situation even worse. The problem is the law itself, not just the website. For instance, here’s the experience of a couple of Obama voters with the ObamaCare regime:

I went to a friend and colleague—let’s call him Peter—for advice. He also had his individual medical policy cancelled because of Obamacare. “I’m stuck on the same question—income,” he told me. Peter does a little writing, a little farming, a little this and that to keep the ship afloat. “I got through to the exchange, and the woman there told me to just estimate what my income would be this year.” In other words: Make it up. If he overestimated, he’d be screwing himself out of a subsidy, Peter said. If he underestimated, he’d be hit with a big fat bill. He wasn’t sure he wouldn’t also be accused of fraud. So he called his accountant, who’s also a lawyer.

That only got him so far. At a certain point in the conversation, the accountant/lawyer had to get off the phone. “I have to stop answering your questions,” he told Peter. “I can’t ethically advise you, because honestly I don’t know the right thing to do. Nobody does. There are no answers. Right now it’s a complete clusterfuck.”

Last week the frustration of people like Peter and me—Obamacare supporters who lost their current plans—was heard by the White House, which promptly panicked. On Thursday, President Obama announced a policy change that would allow insurance companies like Regence to keep customers like me on the old Wood plan for one more year. To that I say: Hah! Thanks for nothing. …

Out here in the Land of the Brand of You, we don’t want cheap twelve-month extensions. We’re willing to suck it up and pay our fair share for health insurance. We want the exchanges to work. We’re not demanding a last-minute reprieve that threatens the stability of the entire system. What we’re asking for is clarity and competence.

If this is an iceberg, then the Democrats are the Titanic, and they’re still steaming right into it.

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Says the owner, “Great–until owner Betsy Atkinson learned the policy would be terminated because it doesn’t meet the requirements of the Affordable Care Act.”

You know if the plan was dropped because it didn’t cover the day after pill or contraception it would be the fault of all those cheap Sandra Flukes out there who can’t manage the cost of their own sex lives.

I’m just curious because it sounds like they must have had good insurance. If plans are being cancelled for stupid things I would love to know so I could talk about it…you know…at Thanksgiving when we have that Obamacare conversation and I remind all the liberals in the family what they have done to us all.

ObamaCare was never really about improving health care or access to health care. It is about power and wealth redistribution.

bluegill on November 25, 2013 at 9:56 AM

Obamacare is also a tool of political oppression and reward. The REB corrupted the IRS and linked federal departments into a tool to help him win elections, and the left will do the same to Obamacare and the Death Panels.

I’m sure the producers of Luck on HBO are mighty PO’d right about now. That show was cancelled due to the deaths of 3 horses during production. They’re probably wondering why the network didn’t just cover it up like on all of these other sets.

Why are we so fixated on 4 million insured people who may lose their current and mostly sub-standard health insurance policies and ignoring the fact that 48 million people who have never had health insurance will finally be able to buy health insurance?

The 4 million insured have had the ability to purchase insurance all along. Now, due to circumstances beyond their control, including the greed of insurance companies, they could potentially lose their current policy. But they still have the option to get another plan.

The 48 million people that have never had coverage would not be able to get any health insurance coverage if it were not for the Affordable Care Act. End of story!

Tell your lawmakers to stop putting politics ahead of the needs of the majority—that is not the way a democracy is supposed to work.

Click here to add your name to this petition, and then pass it along to your friends.

If this is an iceberg, then the Democrats are the Titanic, and they’re still steaming right into it.

Sorry, Ed, but I think we’re further along in the analogy. Obamacare was enacted three years ago, and Obama’s had his chance to roll out all his goodies, while in the past six months or so we’ve begun to see the operations of the downsides. I’d argue that the cancellation notices and the healthcare.gov debacle have combined to represent the collision with the iceberg. Now, it’s just a matter of how fast the ship sinks. Fixing the website so that a few success stories can be reported may represent a few people rowing away in lifeboats. But the screams of those losing coverage, losing access to doctors and hospitals, losing jobs, and losing work hours will be the sounds most people hear or care about from now until the midterms.

I didn’t read the final version of the damned thing, but one of the earlier bills stipulated that insurance plans would not be grandfathered if there was ANY change in them…. including an increase in the premium. This thing was designed to eliminate employer-based insurance, pure and simple.

Are there tons and tons of anecdotal stories of people getting lower premiums that I just haven’t seen? Seems like every time you read a story like this one there will be a sentence that tells you that there are “winners and losers” and “many people have lower premiums” but no actual people to quote to that fact.

Setting aside the BS figure of 48 million people without insurance, they’re not “able” to get it now. They HAVE to get it or pay a fine. Considering a lot of the people in this country who are uninsured are that way by choice, I don’t think they’re gonna be too appreciative of Obama and the Dems taking away a large chunk of what little disposable income they have left.

The Democrats were speaking before the announcement of an interim deal on Iran’s nuclear program over the weekend, and they also acknowledged that Obama cannot ignore the rest of his agenda, including climate change, immigration reform and efforts to improve the economy. But, once the initial flurry of coverage over the Geneva accord subsides, it remains likely that healthcare will overshadow everything once again.

The Democrats must be delusional. Do they really believe that any sane person will have any inclination from this point forward to trust Obama after he so brazenly lied about THE policy issues of all his policy issues that cuts the closest to home for the average American? I have to believe that at some point even the lowest of the low information voter has to get a clue about this guy.

“The prisoners for better security against conversation shall have a canvas bag put over the head of each and tied around the neck, with holes for proper breathing and eating, but not seeing.” ―Edwin M. Stanton

First, of course, the 48 million is a bogus figure. Even Obama authoritatively insisted that it was only 31 million.

Second, even the 31 million is bogus. About a third of those were already eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP. Another third were those who could afford insurance, but simply chose not to get it. The final third are the uninsurable–the group for whom a good legislative solution could have been created.

Third, we have 31 million uninsured, yet CBO tells us that we’ll still have as many uninsured after Obamacare takes effect.

One big fallacy being pushed there, is that the 48 million that didn’t have insurance were being denied it. I’d like to know how many of that 48 million are wealthy enough to just pay out of pocket, or people that have never bothered to get it out of a lack of need, or have been to lazy to look, or simply preferred to spend the money on other things.

Don’t you just love how that “uninsured” figure went from 15m in the original talking point memo, to 18m before the bill was passed? Then 20m, and then 30m in Obama speeches after the bill was passed. And now the Oparrots are squawking 48m?

Why are we so fixated on 4 million insured people who may lose their current and mostly sub-standard health insurance policies and ignoring the fact that 48 million people who have never had health insurance will finally be able to buy health insurance?…

The Democrat true believers at MoveOn don’t care. And do note that when true believers tout the numbers of the uninsured, the total always includes illegal immigrants. Anyone who thinks that Obamacare and amnesty isn’t about insuring the illegals (redistributing wealth to non-Americans) is seriously deluded.

Debra Fishericks had substandard insurance. She should be happy that she is now covered for maternity issues and other health conditions that her old plan didn’t cover.

Debra Fishericks is just being selfish in only caring about her own health insurance. Thanks to Obamacare thousands are getting low-cost health insurance for the first time. Ms. Fishericks needs to pay a little more to help out her neighbors because it is the right thing to do.

Finally, Ms. Fishericks is just a racist to be blaming Obama for the lack of coverage. He suggested a fix to the insurance companies. If they opt to cancel plans instead of allowing folks like Debra Fishericks to keep her substandard plan (even after mandatory propaganda touting the wonders of Obamacare) her cancer treatment or lack thereof is all the fault of the insurance companies.

—-

Seriously, the death spiral is only going to get worse once the website goes live. Too many issues where the lazy stupid idiot will make it up as he speaks to solve one percieved problem that creates three more. The “Obama Fix” to cancelled plans is just such an example. The legal, regulatory, and ethical problems of un-cancelling “substandard” plans caused more chaos to a system already in free fall.

I offer my prayers to Ms. Fishericks and her family. May God be with you as you struggle with your health. May you find your way to remission despite being forced to deal with Obama’s wish that you should die.

I once met a man from a Baltic state who told me that, when the Russians invaded, it was amazing how many of his fellow citizens in his home town were found to speak fluent Russian, and were quickly moved into positions of authority by the conquerors.

There was hell to pay when the Germans pushed the Russians out. Not necessarily dealt out by the Germans, but by the citizens who didn’t speak Russian.

The liberals are very delusional to think that fixing the stupid website is going to change what people think about the Obamacare disaster… More people will hate it in the coming months when tens of millions more will be hurt by it…

If this is an iceberg, then the Democrats are the Titanic, and they’re still steaming right into it.

Sorry, Ed, but I think we’re further along in the analogy. Obamacare was enacted three years ago, and Obama’s had his chance to roll out all his goodies, while in the past six months or so we’ve begun to see the operations of the downsides. I’d argue that the cancellation notices and the healthcare.gov debacle have combined to represent the collision with the iceberg. Now, it’s just a matter of how fast the ship sinks. Fixing the website so that a few success stories can be reported may represent a few people rowing away in lifeboats. But the screams of those losing coverage, losing access to doctors and hospitals, losing jobs, and losing work hours will be the sounds most people hear or care about from now until the midterms.

BuckeyeSam on November 25, 2013 at 10:30 AM

I agree. The Democrats were partying on the deck, kicking ice blocks around for the last few years.

Now, they’ve just realized that there aren’t enough lifeboats, and they are the Titanic crew helping everyone else get off… and they will go down with the ship and half their passengers.

Those in the lifeboats are not happy, and hold the crew of the Titanic completely responsible for this disaster.

One other thing of note… Obama isn’t the captain… Reid is… and he is prepared to go down with the ship. Obama is the sniveling designer that snuck onto one of the lifeboats, and was hated for decades after. People will not let him off the hook, and he will have this around his neck the rest of his life. But unlike the original designer of the Titanic, who spent his life trying to repent for his sins, Obama has no such feelings…

This post shows another Obamacare problem that has been mostly ignored with the larger problems of the web site. People who end up having a larger income than the amount they gave when signing up are going to have lower subsidies, or even no subsidies. They will have to pay the difference at tax time. Surprise!

I agree. The Democrats were partying on the deck, kicking ice blocks around for the last few years.

Now, they’ve just realized that there aren’t enough lifeboats, and they are the Titanic crew helping everyone else get off… and they will go down with the ship and half their passengers.

Those in the lifeboats are not happy, and hold the crew of the Titanic completely responsible for this disaster.

One other thing of note… Obama isn’t the captain… Reid is… and he is prepared to go down with the ship. Obama is the sniveling designer that snuck onto one of the lifeboats, and was hated for decades after. People will not let him off the hook, and he will have this around his neck the rest of his life. But unlike the original designer of the Titanic, who spent his life trying to repent for his sins, Obama has no such feelings…

dominigan on November 25, 2013 at 10:50 AM

Only thing I’d change here is that the Democrats are *not* trying to help people into the lifeboats – they’ve already loaded *themselves* into the lifeboats and are rowing away as hard and fast as they can, trying to avoid being personally sucked under with it.

I still don’t think this will be allowed to be as big as everyone thinks come mid-term elections.

There’s just no way the Dems/Obama will allow it. They will print up another trillion in cash and give everyone enough of a subsidy to ensure they don’t have to pay more in 2014, if that’s what it takes to relieve the pressure for the elections.

Legal or not, doesn’t matter, they’ll do whatever it takes – maybe several things – to keep folks from taking to the political streets with proverbial pitchforks and removing them from power.

Up to and including changing filibuster rules for legislation, ramming amnesty home – with Boehner’s help (already saying he’ll get it passed) – and making sure all of those grateful new Democrat voters are entitled up to their eyeteeth with goodies and voting privileges before 11/2014.

Why are we so fixated on 4 million insured people who may lose their current and mostly sub-standard health insurance policies and ignoring the fact that 48 million people who have never had health insurance will finally be able to buy health insurance?

The 4 million insured have had the ability to purchase insurance all along. Now, due to circumstances beyond their control, including the greed of insurance companies, they could potentially lose their current policy. But they still have the option to get another plan.

Akzed on November 25, 2013 at 10:27 AM

So the parasites who don’t pay in the system take precedence over people like Ms. Fishericks who have and will? Put another way, I don’t think that a woman suffering with cancer should have to suffer so some bar slut doesn’t have to pay for birth control everytime she screws a stranger. I don’t think it fair that the responsible producers in society are literally are having food taken out of the mouths of their children so some drug addict gets “free” rehab. In short those uninsured should get a damned job and buy their own health insurance instead of mooching off of the people actually contributing to this world.

Hey look what i found when I went looking for Mocheell’s “Give up some of your pie” quote.

And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values, like you work hard for what you want in life. That your word is your bond; that you do what you say you’re going to do. That you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don’t know them and even if you don’t agree with them.
Michelle Obama

And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values, like you work hard for what you want in life. That your word is your bond; that you do what you say you’re going to do. That you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don’t know them and even if you don’t agree with them.
Michelle Obama

That’s a knee slapper!

jukin3 on November 25, 2013 at 11:01 AM

Yes; in the words of the venerated philosopher Monty Python: “Pull the other one!”

Earlier this AM, on FNC, there was one of the usual ‘debates’ – this time between two radio talkers. One was Leslie Marshall, a progressive-fascist and a keen student of the ‘Colmesian’ form of debate.

While the gist of the ‘debate’ was if Obamacare was a wealth redistribution scheme, Marshall was placed on the defensive over the EpicClusterFarkedness of the EpicClusterFark. Her response was to immediately talk about some hypothetical child suffering from cancer who, via the miracle of Obamacare, got affordable life saving health insurance coverage.

One of these days, someone debating one of the liberals who knee-jerk to this strawman, needs to use cases like this woman’s as a clue-by-four. This isn’t a hypothetical – this is a real person whose at real risk because of the EpicClusterFark.

.God bless and keep this woman. There’s going to be a lot more of this in the coming months, for sure. Significant to note that this was LOCAL news and a CBS national report.

Hey look what i found when I went looking for Mocheell’s “Give up some of your pie” quote.

And Barack and I were raised with so many of the same values, like you work hard for what you want in life. That your word is your bond; that you do what you say you’re going to do. That you treat people with dignity and respect, even if you don’t know them and even if you don’t agree with them.
Michelle Obama

That’s a knee slapper!

jukin3 on November 25, 2013 at 11:01 AM

Now you aren’t being fair.

I have no doubt that the shaved Yeti has worked hard for what she wants. She just doesn’t care who she screws over to get it.

Her and her lazy stupid spouse’s word are their bond. It all just comes with expiration dates and fine print.

And Mooch did indeed treat people with dignity and respect. Not one patient she dumped at substandard ghetto clinics can fault her for being insulted or demeaned during the process.

Well considering that Va voters just elected a Dem governor and attny general I would have to conclude that perhaps this woman voted for the Dems even while the Obamacare lies were being exposed. If she voted For Obama or McAuliffe I’d have to say that my shivaget meter is at zero. If she voted for Repubs than I feel sorry for her. Apologies but I just cannot muster any sympathy if she votes Dem.

Frankly, I find it amazing that all of these “bad apple” insurance companies were allowed to sell all of these “sub-standard” healthcare policies. Especially considering that insurance is one of the most highly-regulated businesses in America.
I wonder if there are any plans for the “Dept. of Justice” to go after the insurance regulators who allowed all of those “bad apple” insurance companies to do business in their states?

And, does anyone else find it somewhat…odd…that these very same “bad apple” insurance companies who are ‘guilty’ of foisting these “sub-standard” healthcare policies on a gullible, unsuspecting public (a criminal matter if ever there was one), are going to be the very companies writing and issuing the “new, improved, up-to-standard” policies for d’ohbamacare?

One would think that, if the companies are such “bad apples“, that they would be run out of business – and even prosecuted for their evil deeds…rather than being rewarded with government bailouts and contracts.

Out here in the Land of the Brand of You, we don’t want cheap twelve-month extensions. We’re willing to suck it up and pay our fair share for health insurance. We want the exchanges to work. We’re not demanding a last-minute reprieve that threatens the stability of the entire system. What we’re asking for is clarity and competence.

First, of course, the 48 million is a bogus figure. Even Obama authoritatively insisted that it was only 31 million.

Second, even the 31 million is bogus. About a third of those were already eligible for Medicaid or SCHIP. Another third were those who could afford insurance, but simply chose not to get it. The final third are the uninsurable–the group for whom a good legislative solution could have been created.

Third, we have 31 million uninsured, yet CBO tells us that we’ll still have as many uninsured after Obamacare takes effect.

WTF is all this for?

BuckeyeSam on November 25, 2013 at 10:35 AM

Exactly. Both the Kaiser Family Foundation and the CATO Institute found that the number actually boils down to around 15 million people. These are people that make too much money to qualify for Medicaid, or who have been priced out of the market with a preexisting condition. We can’t let them tout the 48 million number – it’s complete bullshit. But somehow they had to lie, because finding a solution for 15 million people wouldn’t have involved the total destruction of our existing system.

Remember, 85% of people were happy with their health insurance before the ACA.

The ACA because of its bizarrely high requirements for all policies will increase premiums in general- there will be a small number of people who will pay less for premiums because of the reduced age rating for older patients.

If this patient had a policy that had good cancer coverage, but so-so wellness coverage, maternity benefits, vaccinations, and didn’t cover sex change operations and had a $1,000,000 lifetime cap, her premiums will have to go up in order to provide all those benefits, and no lifetime cap.

Tens of millions of people will lose their insurance and have to buy more expnsive policies (if they can afford them, even with subsidies) under this bill. A very small number-like the one person who could only get basic insurance because of childhood cancer who can now get a more complete policy- will benefit.

The Democrats who passed the ACA don’t understand that in the marketplace, bells an whistles cost money. If you mandate bells and whistles, overall people will pay a lot more.

I don’t know if the harm to benefit is 10:1, 100:1 or 1000:1 but the ACA is heavily skewed toward harming the average American as anyone that took the time to read and understand the bill realized.